Meet Penny

Penny's fascination with the smaller inhabitants of the natural world started long before PRO Herpetology existed. As a child, she could regularly be found in her dad's back garden, turning over logs and stones and playing with the woodlice she found underneath. What started as childhood curiosity eventually became a genuine love for the little armoured recyclers — and, many years later, an increasingly impressive collection of isopods.

For the past decade, Penny has worked extensively with reptiles and invertebrates, developing considerable practical experience in their care, breeding and rehabilitation. She is an experienced corn snake and royal python breeder in her own right and has worked with a huge variety of exotic species, alongside rescuing and rehabilitating animals needing a second chance.

Penny is also the co-founder of PRO Herpetology, where her practical experience, attention to detail and genuine affection for the animals have been part of the project from the beginning. She is also Nigel's fiancée — which means she has the additional and considerably more demanding role of occasionally telling him when he's talking bollocks.

But isopods have always held a particular place in Penny's heart.

From the familiar woodlice beneath the stones of her childhood garden to the extraordinary colours, patterns and behaviours found among the species and varieties she keeps today, that original fascination never really went away. Her collection is now being developed and bred with the same philosophy we apply throughout PRO Herpetology: understand the animal first, provide for its biology, and never stop observing.

Turns out the little creatures under those garden stones were only the beginning.